


is not this something more than fantasy?

by piperreynas



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, i know this already reads sort of like a fairytale bc of the world its set it but, idk i wanted to make it read More like one?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 05:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16212050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piperreynas/pseuds/piperreynas
Summary: once upon a time, there lived a witch, a warlock, a wraith, an archer, a prisoner, a prince, and a monster. they all livedhappilyever after.





	is not this something more than fantasy?

**Author's Note:**

> * made an edit for this fic [here](https://kettvrdams.tumblr.com/post/178803346781/six-of-crows-fairytale-x-the-kingdom-of-kerch)
>   
> 
> * this is only a prologue (hence the title), more to follow as soon as i finish writing!

the kingdom of kerch was an island in more ways than one.

it was, of course, located on a literal island, surrounded by a sea that was as forgiving as it was clean (which is to say, not very); but its isolation ran deeper than that. the kerch were mistrustful of other nations to a degree that suggested it had been rooted in them somehow; had been sown into the soil of kerch, dumped in their rivers by the bucketful and spread through the population like a plague.

the kerch were distrustful of each other as well. they had ample reason, but when directed at each other, their mistrust was not rooted in the ignorance that guided their interactions with foreigners, only in a deeply instinctive knowledge that the man selling you your bread would try and swipe your purse as soon as your attention was directed elsewhere, nevermind the fact that you were already paying him.

this wariness-cum-indifference extended to other things as well: knowledge, business. magic. magic of any kind, but specifically those that the zemeni called _zowa:_ blessed, those that the ravkans employed as soldiers, those that the fjerdans hunted. grisha.

the grisha living in kerch had, over time, grown in number, until their population was large enough to warrant a city of their own within the capital of ketterdam. they inherited the unscrupulousness of the kerch soon after, thrived off their ability to do things that the rest of the population could not, and as such they’d become an integral part of ketterdam’s fabled network of crime, so you can imagine the indignance of the kerch when the grisha suddenly started dropping like flies. (i say indignance, not worry, reader, because the kerch didn’t much care if they, or anyone else, lived or died; all they cared about was the inconvenience of having to find a new, equally lucrative service provider.)

this was the crux of the problem: the merchants, all of whom were embroiled in ketterdam’s stranglehold of...unsavory activities cared very much about their lost money. the king of kerch, jan van eck, who remained suspiciously uninvolved with anything even resembling misconduct, maintained his passive stance on anything remotely related to the grisha. (ten years ago, jan van eck, a merchant, employed almost half the grisha in ketterdam and was almost single-handedly funding the upkeep of their city. nine years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days ago, he met the fjerdan king, and by extension fjerda's vast wealth and untapped resources, and had become utterly enamored. nine years, eleven months, and twenty days ago, he rid himself of anything that could be considered magical without ever formally denouncing the grisha or magic. nine years and ten months ago, the previous king died in an inexplicable accident and jan van eck, having the most money and property of all the merchants, was named king. )

it was for this reason that the current merchers of ketterdam, instead of leaving the matter to the less-than-capable hands of king and country, turned to the smugglers and thieves, namely kaz brekker, aged 17 (or so they said): a new commodity amongst ketterdam’s underbelly, imported in from a small farm town near shu-han. our monster.


End file.
